For as long has Liverpool has had success as a football club, that success has been interwoven with the Club’s (and the City’s) link to Scotland. Liverpool played their first match on 1 September 1892, a pre-season friendly against Rotherham Town, which they won 7–1. The team Liverpool fielded against Rotherham was composed entirely of Scottish players – the players who came from Scotland to play in England in those days were known as the Scotch Professors. Manager John McKenna had recruited the players after a scouting trip to Scotland – so they became known as the “team of Macs”.
One of this side was Matt McQueen, who would later become the Club’s first Scottish manager. He won two Second Division titles as a player, one as an outfield player and one as goalkeeper. He played in all eleven positions for the Reds, and as a manager was responsible for one of Liverpool’s greatest signings, Gordon Hodgson, an amazing all-round sportsman who netted 233 league goals for the Reds and took 148 wickets for Lancashire at an average of 27.75.
Billy Liddell was the next to take up the mantle of the Scottish stalwarts, playing his entire career for the Reds, notching 228 goals in 534 appearances. Of the SEVEN Scots who contributed to the legendary League Title win in 1946/47, Liddell’s name is undoubtedly the one whose name lives on in Red hearts.
Then came Shankly, and two of his players, Ron Yeats and Ian St John, none of whom need any introduction. Others who made telling contributions under Shankly include Willie Stevenson, Peter Cormack and Brian Hall. Later came Kenny, of course (the second Scot to both play for and manage the Club), and then Souness (the third), accompanied by Alan “Jocky” Hansen (the Club’s most decorated Scot with 8 League titles, and later John Wark and Stevie Nicol, both key players in the Reds’ spell of sustained success in the 1980s, along with fellow Scot Gary Gillespie.
This banner celebrates many of these names with a design that pays tribute to ALL the Scots who have played for Liverpool – an inverted version of the Scottish Royal Standard which replaces the lion rampant with a traditional Liverbird.
The names of the great managers and players are crafted in red on red, so that they are subtle – part of the fabric of the flag – rather than being contrasting. This means that they can be seen at close quarters, but do not compromise the overall appearance of the standard when viewed from a distance.
The Flower of Scouseland.
